


Burn Like the Sun

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [5]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode AU: s02e02 Tooth and Claw, F/M, Fluff, Pregnancy, Romance, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:33:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEThe Doctor & Rose let the TARDIS pick their next destination, and Rose discovers some life-changing news. She and the Doctor are also trapped in a world that is imploding on itself and they have to work to save it, while also trying to figure out what's next for their timeline.Lots of action, some smut, references to 'Tooth and Claw' and some moments I hope you find adorable :)“She showed me this journal on her deathbed, and told me you two were the only ones who could help. She told me, Rose, about how strong you were in the dungeon that day,” she whispered. The Doctor looked at her, realizing he didn’t actually know this part of that day either, and Rose nibbled on her lip. “How you asked all the right questions...She said you stood up to the wolf.”Rose looked at her, her mind flashing to those chains and that denim skirt vividly and couldn’t help but smile a little to herself. She had been so terrified when the Host started speaking about how there was ‘something of the wolf about her’...He was right, of course. But it turns out it was nothing to be afraid of.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111892
Comments: 2
Kudos: 130





	1. Memory Lane

**Author's Note:**

> yay! Like my last series, each story in this one connects to a larger, overarching plot. So I definitely recommend reading everything in order, and it will take a while before all the pieces come together. I like treasure hunts :)

He was...singing. 

She heard him from the hallway and she walked into the console room with a cupcake. She had wanted something sweet that morning and the TARDIS was nice enough to oblige, and she watched with a wide grin she was trying to suppress as he made repairs and _danced_ around the controls, blasting ‘Tainted Love.’ 

She licked some frosting off the cupcake and hid her smile behind her hand as his head bobbed and he twisted the wrench and banged on something with the mallet. He had no idea she was there, singing loudly and perfectly on key, turning and making repairs on beat, and she felt herself fall head over heels. 

He was such a dork. 

“Rose!” he said, still singing. “Do you remember this song?!” 

“Yeah,” she said, smiling at him. He started to sing some more and turned her in a circle, and then moved back to the console, still dancing, shouting “Oh, tainted love,” with vigor and she just burst out laughing. He grinned at her as the song started to filter out, and he moved to continue his repairs when it was over, and she just smiled at him. 

“Someone is in a good mood,” she said. He winked at her and she moved to him, giving him the last bite of her cupcake, which he took and hummed happily. 

“You, me, in the TARDIS, why shouldn’t I be?” he asked with his mouth full, and she bit her lip.”OH! I need a green one!” 

He ran off down the hall, and her tongue played with her lips like usual. She didn’t ask or care what he meant by ‘green one’, she just felt her heart skip a beat when he came running back in and rambled to her, continuing to work. 

She recognized this Doctor. His boisterous self; who had led her through so many journeys before the parallel world, the one who was hidden for the year before Atlantis and then slowly started to trickle back into her life; the one who often came out to play since they got forever was standing before her with wild hair. He was witty and giddy and silly and still talking to her, a thousand words a minute, and she rolled her eyes playfully when he grinned and another song began to play. 

“HA! Brilliant!” he shouted, and moved to the other side of the console. 

She loved him so much it took her breath away. 

It had been about six weeks since the Weeping Angels, and in that time they had celebrated five years of travelling officially, they finally got that uninterrupted date with a trip to see the Northern Lights, they stopped an alien invasion on the planet Plutoop, they visited Jackie, and Tony and Pete, Martha and Donna finally met Mickey, and just a few days ago they had been caught on a Harpoon Ship in the Vortex, which the Doctor explained were like Space Pirates but not as finicky, and the TARDIS had taken a beating. 

They escaped, of course, but she wasn’t surprised he was still having to make repairs. She was finding it impossible not to stare at him, and she bit her lip when he took his tie off and unbuttoned his Oxford while he sang the words to ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. 

“Are we just...taking a trip down memory lane today?” she asked, and he looked at her with a grease stain on his nose, and she just laughed. “Come here, you git.” 

“What?” he asked, furrowing his brow. “What’d I miss?” 

She kissed him and sat on the grating while he was standing in it, her legs on either side of his waist and she pulled him to her, making his messy hair even messier as she ran her fingers through it. He looked dazed when she pulled away, and she leaned back as the music played around them, and licked her thumb, wiping the grease off. 

“Hello,” he said seductively, and she smiled at him, catching his lips in a kiss again. Maybe it was the song, maybe it was the look on his face, maybe it was just him, but the next thing she knew she tore the Oxford open and he stared at her with a wolfish grin as she jumped into the grating with him and pressed him against the coral, which hummed in her mind as she took control, the Oxford falling onto the floor as the chorus of the song began to play again, and he caught his breath in his throat. 

“Rose,” he breathed out, and she unzipped her jacket, dropping it as well, and he registered briefly that she was once again caught in gold light, illuminated completely, and she smiled at him and winked as she kissed him again, and he moaned. 

The song faded, but the TARDIS knew what she was doing and continued to play songs from their past, giving them a few minutes of underscored passion, but when ‘Toxic’ began to play they both began to laugh too hard to continue to kiss, and she pressed her head to his chest. 

“I love you,” he said, and she smiled at him. 

“I love you, too,” she told him, and he wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips to her hair. “How much longer?” 

“I have to recircuit the Magnitude Adjuster and we’ll be all set,” he murmured. She bit her lip, a gleam in her eye. 

“Both wires?” she whispered, and he started to smile at her. 

“You know how many wires are needed for that?” he asked, his arousal peaking as she just shrugged. 

“Doesn’t answer my question,” she said. He licked his lips and shook his head in amazement, and cleared his throat. 

“Both wires, yes,” he said with a low voice and she took a deep breath. 

“Just you...that could take an hour. Two maybe. I don’t want to wait that long,” she purred. “Can I help?” 

He stared at like he was trying not to devour her, which is exactly what he was trying not to do, especially when she moved under the grating in her bra and stared at the control panel, scanning with her sonic screwdriver, a fresh spill of gold light covering her entire body as she bit her lip, deducting. 

She began to reattach a wire, and the movement brushed her hair off her cheek so it spilled behind her, revealing his favorite spot on her neck to kiss. 

“Stop,” he said, and she looked at him, but he was breathing heavily and already undoing his belt, and she grinned at him as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “When’d you learn all that?” 

His voice was deep and uncontrolled and she shook her head as he trailed his tongue along her clavicle, and she let out a gasp. 

“Been reading,” she admitted. “The book about the TARDIS…” 

She cried out and he smiled in triumph as she clutched his hair. He moved and propped her back up on the grating, kissing that spot on her neck. She made more noises, all of which made the hair on the back of his neck stand up straight as more clothes disappeared under the grating, and he was eventually laying on top of her, writhing, and she was screaming. 

“You...flying the ship…” he said between breaths as she gasped and moved with him, “that I can handle without..ah....” 

“What?” she said, biting her lip. His teeth were on her shoulder and he groaned, hissing her name. 

“Without doing this,” he said, moving in a way that made her arch back and he smiled. “Barely, I should add.” He said against her skin, “But you knowing how to make repairs…” 

“Hm?” she moaned, and he kissed her, his tongue swirling in her mouth and he pulled back with a ‘pop’. She started to whimper. 

“Can’t handle that, Rose…” he said, and their minds opened, a floodgate of sensations hitting them both at once, and she saw gold light. She made a new type of noise that made him groan when she realized he was sharing what the sight of her in gold light does to him, and she faintly registered her name leaving his lips in Gallifreyan. 

She knew the grating was imprinting on her skin like that night after they sealed off the parallel world, but she didn’t care, she moved faster and with more urgency as more sensations that weren’t hers flew to her mind and down her spine, and she screamed louder than she ever had before, so loudly he stopped. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, panting, and she just nodded, unable to open to her eyes, and he moved a little more slowly. 

“Don’t stop,” she said, and he kissed her shoulder, slowly returning to what they were doing, and she scratched his back. “Please.” 

“Patience,” he said in her ear, and she let out a gasp. 

They didn’t speak much after that, but Rose screamed quite loudly again and he once again stopped. The face she made, though, sent him cascading like the ocean waves that crashed against those rocks when he found her, so long ago now it seems, at the fixed point that them here, and he held her to him and kissed her again as they caught their breath, and she kept her eyes closed. 

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked, and she just smiled at him. 

“Not even a little bit,” she whispered. “Felt good.” 

“I could tell,” he said with a smile, and she rolled off the grating and onto his chest, and they didn’t try to move to a moment. She sighed against him and eventually sat up, and he began to move too, gathering up the Oxford and shooting her a look. “You know, if we keep ripping the buttons on all my shirts I’ll have to rethink my wardrobe.” 

She smiled at him as she slipped her jacket back on, and watched him hold his hand out to her, helping her stand. They smiled at each other and he rubbed her hand with his thumb. “You were really reading about the TARDIS?” 

“Course,” she said. “She’s our home. You can’t be the only one taking care of her for forever.” 

He stared at her, and he just kissed the back of her hand. He shouldn’t be surprised, he really shouldn’t, and his brain was telling him that, but he was. Even after all this time, after everything they had been through, she still..well... 

His impossible human. 

She kissed him and just squeezed his hand, moving to clean up a little and get dressed. He followed, quickly showering and throwing on a fresh new suit, but he eventually returned to the console to finish the repairs as Rose let the water run a little longer than necessary, savoring the warmth. 

He smiled when he saw her approach after a while and she leaned her cheek in her palm as she watched. “Sure I can’t do part of it?” 

He realized her act earlier wasn’t just about seducing him and he popped his head out from the grating. She genuinely wanted to try, and he clicked his tongue against his teeth as he stepped back and let her take a look, and he ran his hand through his hair when she scanned the proper bit of gears he had been adjusting, and she looked at him. 

“This one, right?” 

He nodded, and she nibbled on her lip and worked, and eventually she stepped away, letting him take her place. He held her hand as he inspected, glasses on his nose, and he made one small change, but he couldn’t stop smiling when he turned to look at her. When she bounced a little on her toes in anticipation he just laughed and hugged her. “Very well done.” 

“Yeah?” she asked, and he nodded, pulling away to look at her. 

“Yes,” he said, letting out a shaky breath and shaking his head at her. “I mean it, though, Rose. I can’t handle that, so...you know, behave,” he said with a wink, and she flashed him a saucy smile. 

“Noted,” she said, and he let out a breath. They both smiled at each other and he kissed her, her sweet honey filling his lungs and he turned to the console. 

“I say now that she’s all fixed up she can pick out next destination, what do you think?” he asked, and she bit her lip. 

“You remember what happened last time?” she teased, and he didn’t say anything, he just pressed the necessary buttons and pulled the lever, and it wasn’t long before the gentle spin of time came to a halt under their feet and they raced to the doors, his boisterous self coming back. 

“Allons-y, Rose Tyler, “ he said and pushed the doors open, only to be met by a group of ten soldiers in red armour, holding out guns.


	2. Sir Doctor and Dame Rose?

He kept Rose behind him as he grinned at the soldiers, smiling in that way she loves so much and he gestured back inside the ship with his head. 

“Oh, hello! Sorry, I think I might’ve made a slight miscalculation, I’ll be -” he began, but a soldier grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the doorway. He stumbled as they threw him into the center of the group and he turned to see them doing the same to Rose, who locked eyes with him. 

“Come with us,” the man holding Rose said. The Doctor didn’t like the roughness of his grip and he glared at him. 

“Let her go,” he said. “I’m the Doctor, we were just leaving.” 

The man stared at him and just gripped Rose tighter, and she saw the Doctor’s face darken as the man held her so tightly she felt a bruise forming, and the Doctor started to move toward him, but the other guards held him back. Rose looked up, noticing stubble and dirt all along his face. His gear was worn and beaten on his back, his clothing had some holes in it, and there was a smell...she couldn’t place it, but it was making her feel like she was about to puke, and the longer he held her the harder it was getting to ignore. 

He dropped his grasp just as vomit flew across his feet, and the Doctor stared at her with wide eyes, wondering if she had done that on purpose. The soldier made a noise and moved to strike her, and the Doctor was about to break free and stop him when the other soldiers released their grasps and pulled the soldier near Rose back. 

“Stop, what are you doing?” one asked, and the soldier just grimaced. Rose was still trying to recover, but she was also starting to feel a little dizzy. 

She should have eaten more than a cupcake. 

“Sorry, boys,” she said, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. “He smelled.” 

The soldiers, to the Doctor’s surprise, chuckled a bit and returned to the Doctor, who nudged his mind. 

_Are you alright?_

_Yeah. Promise. He really did just smell._

He smirked at her and held her hand as the soldier who had been holding her glared. Rose realized they weren't supposed to hurt either of them, and as they began to move away from the TARDIS she looked around at their surroundings, and realized they were in a forest. 

The ground was full of dry leaves. They crunched under their feet and the trees were barren and gray, and Rose wondered if they might be dying. The Doctor shared a glance with her, thinking the same thing, and they walked through the leaves silently, the soldiers gathered on all sides. 

The sky was gray as well, with storm clouds lingering above their heads and Rose was starting to deduct, uneasiness lacing her thoughts the more she took in. Animals that clearly died of starvation were seen on the path they took, and they approached a gate after half an hour of walking. The Doctor clenched his jaw and stared at it carefully as it lowered vertically, the way a drawbridge might across a moat, and Rose squeezed his hand when she realized that is exactly what it was, but the water that should be around them was gone. The canals were dry as a bone and they inched forward with the soldiers, finding themselves in the town below a castle that was up above them, but even that looked like it was falling apart. The people in the town were dirty, the ground muddy, many were so thin they were just skeletons with a layer of skin, and Rose found herself trying not to get sick again from smells. The Doctor kept his eyes ahead, trying to figure out what planet this was. 

Everyone’s eyes followed them as they weaved up the path toward the castle. He saw one sun hiding behind the storm clouds and thunder clapped in the distance. It felt like Earth, but he had been all over Earth a thousand and one times, and this was...new.

Rose’s hand was still in his as a large door opened and they were ushered inside. It was cold, bitingly so, once they were in what appeared to be a throne room, and Rose shivered. He pulled her to him, looking around, and she noticed a bear rug on the floor in the middle of the room. He saw portraits and tapestries on the walls, and the door closed with a loud bang that made them jump, and the soldiers gathered around them, looking at them. 

“Sir Doctor and Dame Rose?” a voice asked. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at it, and Rose stared curiously. 

“Who’s asking?” the Doctor said, and Rose’s tongue was tracing her lip as the soldiers stepped aside, and a man in a tattered red cloak walked forward. He looked sickly and weak, and he nodded at them, a shadow crossing his face from the hallway. 

“I am,” he said. “Sir Percival Calder.” 

“Who?” Rose asked, and the Doctor bit his cheek and looked down at his feet to stop from smiling at the way she said it. He didn’t know who he was either, and Percival stared at them and cleared his throat, waving his hand to release the soldiers. 

“Come with me,” he said, and the Doctor squeezed Rose’s hand as they followed him away from the throne room. It felt colder the further back into the castle they ventured, and he gave Rose his coat as Percival gestured to a seat in the library, where most of the books looked withered and well-read. It was dimly lit, the only light sources were a few candles on the tables and Rose sat down carefully, afraid the furniture might break as a small servant woman brought watery tea and stale biscuits. Rose smiled at her but she ran away, and she shared a glance with the Doctor. 

_They don’t want to hurt us. Instincts._

Percival was watching them, and the Doctor was sitting silently as Rose’s Instincts continued to take in the situation. The door behind them opened and a woman walked in. She looked slightly more put together than most of the people they had seen so far, but her hair was thinning a little in the front and she was swimming in her dress, and Rose could tell she was hungry as well. She pushed the biscuits toward them with a smile, but Rose just shook her head. 

“We’re alright. You should eat them, if you’d like,” she said. The woman sat next to Percival and let out a long sigh. 

“Are you Sir Doctor of TARDIS and Dame Rose of Powell Estate?” she asked, apparently not interested in pleasantries. 

“How do you know those names?” the Doctor asked softly, but Rose placed a hand on his knee. 

“We are,” she said. The woman looked at her, stunned. 

“You look the same. From the book,” she whispered. 

“What book?” he asked, and the woman got up and pulled one off of the shelf, handing it to him. The Doctor flipped it open carefully, looking through the pages, and stopped when he saw a sketch of his face and Rose’s, a werewolf on the next page. 

He read quickly, as did Rose, and realized it was a recount of what happened that day in 1879. A diary entry, it seemed, and Rose’s breath hitched when she realized who wrote it. 

“Lady Isobel…” Rose murmured, and the Doctor looked at her. He looked up at the woman, and he traced her face with his eyes. 

“Who are you?” he asked. 

“My name is Lady Lorelai Calder,” she said. “Please, Sir Doctor, you can just call me Lorelai.” 

“You can just call me the Doctor,” he said softly, and Rose was looking back at the book. She flipped to the cover, but it was just a leather bound book with no significance at a glance, and she looked back at the diary entry. It was almost like a photocopy, but she looked further and realized it had been ripped from one notebook and glued into the cover, and her hand traced the thin ridge of the torn edge slowly. 

“Did you know her?” Rose asked, looking up. Lorelai nodded. 

“My mother,” she said. “When she left the Torchwood Estate she came here. She got remarried eventually, to my father, Daniel. He was the Duke, but they’re both gone now...The disease…” 

“Is that why everyone looks so sick?” Rose asked. Lorelai grabbed Percival’s hand, and Rose realized they must be together. 

“There’s some darkness out there,” Loreali said. “It’s been this way for...a decade. Maybe more. It just gets worse. Once my parents passed on we grew desperate and tried to contact Torchwood, but it seems any attempt we make to contact the outside world is futile. No letters, no telegrams...Before she died, my mother told me about you, Dame Rose -” 

“You can call me Rose, s’alright,” Rose said and the Doctor watched Rose’s infectious smile ease Lorelai some, who was able to take a breath. 

“She showed me this journal on her deathbed, and told me you two were the only ones who could help. She told me, Rose, about how strong you were in the dungeon that day,” she whispered. The Doctor looked at her, realizing he didn’t actually know this part of that day either, and Rose nibbled on her lip. “How you asked all the right questions...She said you stood up to the wolf.” 

Rose looked at her, her mind flashing to those chains and that denim skirt vividly and couldn’t help but smile a little to herself. She had been so terrified when the Host started speaking about how there was ‘something of the wolf about her’...

He was right, of course. But it turns out it was nothing to be afraid of. 

The Doctor squeezed her hand, having seen her memories and just shook his head at her for a moment. His brave, smart, compassionate, perfect, impossible human. Twenty years old she was that day and was more brilliant than anyone he had ever met before. He almost kissed her, until Lorelai continued on. 

“Things were normal my entire childhood But...after Queen Victoria passed, this...darkness…” she whispered. 

“What year is this?” the Doctor asked, turning his attention away from Rose. 

“We believe it's 1912 or so,” Percival said. “But we aren’t sure.” 

“How’s that?” the Doctor said, the pitch of his voice rising. A thunderclap was heard again outside and Rose turned over her shoulder, where rain was pouring. 

“We haven’t aged,” Lorelai said. “It’s been ten years or so, but I still look nineteen, the age I was the day Her Majesty passed on.” 

Rose turned back to face them, and Percival was staring at them. “We don’t know what’s happening, but everyday more and more people are dying. The forest around us is dying. The air is thinner and we are weaker. This region, for whatever reason, is cursed. Time is running out.” 

There was a moment of silence, and Lorelai stared at Rose. “Will you help? I’m sorry to be so rude about it, but -” 

“You’re not being rude,” Rose said. “We’ll try.” 

“Where are we?” the Doctor asked. “Earth, clearly, but I don’t recognize the region. This castle is...new to me.” 

“The Kingdom of Arden” Lorelai said. 

The Doctor’s face was stunned for a moment, until a wide grin broke out. “I thought that was a myth,” he said, but Percival shook his head. 

“No,” he said. “It’s a curse.” 

Rose stiffened, and suddenly began to feel dizzy again. She collapsed against the Doctor, who began to say her name a few times. She dimly registered that Lorelai and Percival were speaking, and as quickly as it began it ended. 

“I’m alright,” she said, sitting up and rubbing her temple. “I’m fine. I promise.” 

“Rose,” the Doctor said seriously. He was kneeling in front of her, his eyes wide, and she kissed his hand.

“All I had was that cupcake, and I threw it up,” she said. “Think I’m just...lightheaded.” 

He clenched his jaw and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, but before he could scan her something fell against the window with a thud and pulled his focus, and she stood up and moved to it. It was a tree branch, blowing in the wind, and she sighed. 

“We can’t go out there and investigate anything now,” Rose said. “The rain is getting stronger.” 

She turned around and the Doctor was staring at her, still concerned. She smiled at him and sent him a wave of love. 

Lorelai stood and moved to her. “We have a room you’re both welcome to. Do you.. mind sharing a room?” 

“We’re married,” the Doctor said. Lorelai smiled. 

“Oh, well,” she said. “That’s good to hear. My mother said there were lots of...looks, that day, between you.” 

“Were there?” the Doctor teased, winking at Rose who just rolled her eyes. 

They followed Lorelai up the stairs to a guest suite, though it wasn’t very well kept. The bed was dusty and it was freezing, and Percival brought some candles in and lit the fireplace to try and keep them warm. He turned to them when it was roaring and nodded. 

“We weren’t sure how to reach you. How did you find us?” he asked. The Doctor clicked his jaw. 

“Destiny, I think,” he said, and Rose looked at him. He nodded at Percival, who closed the door and went to rejoin Lorelai at the end of the hall, and Rose shivered. 

“It’s freezing,” she said. 

“Come here,” he said, wrapping her in a hug and regulating his body temperature a little. She sighed against his embrace and he kissed her head. “You never told me about the wolf.” 

“Oh,” she said. “Yeah, well…” 

“Why not?” he asked, rubbing her back. She kissed his shoulder and looked at the flames in the fireplace as they twisted and rippled, and she just shrugged. 

“I was afraid you’d try to send me home,” she whispered. 

He pulled away from her, his eyes searching her face carefully as she once again chewed the skin on her lip. She moved to sit on the edge of the window and looked up at the moon, and he sat across from her. 

“Why would I do that?” he asked. It was somewhat of a silly conversation to be having, he knew, considering how everything had worked out, but her reason had made his stomach flip over. She sighed. 

“Doctor, it was...Satellite 5 was only a few months back at the time. I just, I mean…” she broke off, and he slipped his hand into hers. 

“Tell me, please,” he whispered. 

“I could talk to the TARDIS by then,” she said. “So when he said that, I knew he was right. I was remembering Bad Wolf slowly. I knew you didn’t just sing a song and then the Daleks ran away…” 

He smirked at her and she flashed him his favorite smile and she looked back at the moon. “You sent me away to protect me, I know. You...died, to protect me, Doctor. I...I was afraid you would blame yourself if you thought something was wrong with me and send me away again to save me and punish yourself because you thought you deserved it.” 

He stared at her, and she leaned back against the wall. It did sound like something he would have done, he couldn’t deny that, and he clenched his jaw. 

“You know me well, Rose Tyler,” he murmured. She smirked. 

“I might know a thing or two, yeah,” she said, and he felt his hearts flutter. 

“I’m sorry,” he said seriously, cupping his hand to her cheek. 

“Doctor,” she said, giving him a smile. “You and I both know sending me away that day was supposed to happen. An unavoidable fixed point. An impossible thing had to occur, yeah?” 

The smile she was giving him was wrapping him around her finger tighter than ever before, and he just shook his head. 

“Yes,” he said, smiling at her. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” she said. “I’m hungry.” 

He ran his hand over his face and nodded. “I can try to go back to the TARDIS. Maybe I can repark her in the library, then we have access to what we need, including food. Not just for us, either. We can feed the town.” 

“Look at the rain,” she said. “It’s two miles away.” 

“So?” he said. She just looked at him.

“Stay,” she whispered. “Please? We can go get it tomorrow.” 

He nodded and pulled her to him, kissing her head. She closed her eyes and her stomach rumbled, and she laughed as he gave her a look, and she just hit his arm. “I’ll be fine. Just a few hours.” 

“Are you still dizzy, though?” he asked. She shook her head. 

“Why?” she asked. 

“Just making sure,” he murmured. They watched the rain for a little while, and eventually they decided to try to sleep, as there was nothing else to do until they could get the TARDIS or explore the town.


	3. Discoveries

They both managed to drift off some, but Rose awoke in the middle of the night when the fire dwindled and her teeth were chattering. She got up, wrapping the Doctor’s coat around her and started the fire again with her sonic, when suddenly panic brewed inside her. 

He was asleep, which meant their blocks were up and she was incredibly grateful for that at the moment as she sat in front of the fire, her hands covering her mouth. 

She had a craving for sweets so intense this morning the TARDIS had gone out of her way to get her a cupcake before she had a meltdown. She didn’t tell him that part, but the puzzle pieces were all coming together at once and she stopped breathing. She’d been dizzy and she’d had aversions to smells not just today, but off and on for the last couple of weeks. Today had been the worst of it, and she remembered the vomiting. The intense orgasms she could only accredit to an increase in her sex drive, something she didn’t think was possible.

And for some reason it took the flames in this fireplace for her to realize that in all the crazy adventures and bouncing around they’d done over the last six weeks, she missed her period. 

Oh, she’s an idiot. 

Her heart was pounding as she looked at her sonic screwdriver, the dizziness coming back. She took a deep breath to steady herself, though her Instincts were pretty sure she was right. She focused on her blocks and her heartbeat to try and let him rest while she figured this out, and she scanned herself. 

She scanned again. 

And again. 

Pregnant. 

She dropped the sonic screwdriver, the entire room spinning suddenly. Time moved in slow motion, and her brain shut off for a moment, unable to process the word. She still had her birth control in place. They were careful. They had talked about waiting. She was twenty four in just two weeks and had hundreds of more years left, and she kept waiting to panic. For a crash of fear to hit her and tell her she wasn't ready for this, just like she had been saying, but instead she just smiled and saw his smile in her mind. She felt tears brim in her eyes and fall onto her cheeks, and all those thoughts about wanting more time just the two of them no longer seemed to matter as she picked up the sonic screwdriver again and stared at it. 

She covered her mouth with her hand, still smiling and felt lightheaded. Butterflies were in her gut, maybe, she wasn't entirely sure...emotions were overwhelming at the moment and she just sat for a while, teary eyed and dazed, before she shook her head and tried to refocus. The practical side of her kicked in, and she wanted to figure out how far along she was, but she knew she needed the TARDIS for that. 

She realized there were _so_ many things they still needed to talk about and she was starting to get ahead of herself again. Her throat was tight and she stood up, placing a hand on her belly for a moment and letting out a long breath before she looked at the Doctor, and the ease of his face in his sleep immediately calmed her down. 

She almost woke him. She wanted to so badly, but her stomach rumbled again and it was suddenly something she couldn’t ignore. She rocked on her feet, debating if she should walk to the TARDIS or stay and looked out the window, and she saw that most of the rain had stopped. The sun was still down, though and she knew it would be bitterly cold, even colder than this room which at least had a fireplace, and she took a deep breath. 

She needed to eat. At the moment, that was her only goal. 

She slipped her arms through the sleeves of his jacket and walked out of the room. Her sonic illuminated the pathway, and she looked around, trying to figure out where the kitchens were. She assumed, like most castles she’d been to that they were downstairs, and she made her way in that general direction. She wanted, more than anything to go to the TARDIS but she really didn’t want to deal with frostbite and pregnancy and the storm the combination would stir up in her husband. 

They’d fight. They rarely do that anymore, but in that case, she was certain of it. 

She pushed a door open and found herself in the kitchen, but she sighed, suddenly feeling stupid and guilty. This region was starving and she couldn’t take their food, and she pressed her head into her hands and took a deep breath. She moved back upstairs, about to tell the Doctor everything when she ran into him on the steps, and he pulled her into a hug. 

“Where’d you go?” he asked, his voice a little shrill, and she smiled. 

She looked at him and opened her mouth, and the words she spoke were not what she meant to say. 

“The loo,” she said. “Were you looking for me?” 

She wanted to tell him, but something was stopping her and she bit her lip, unable to form more words as he nodded. 

“Yeah,” he said. “The storm has died down. I want to go get the TARDIS. But you should stay here. It's cold, I can regulate my temperature.” 

She swallowed, and for a moment she wondered if he had been awake and somehow heard the swirls of thoughts and debating and talking herself down that she had been doing. If he had, he wasn't commenting on it and he was looking at her normally, rubbing her hand, and she just sighed. 

“Just be careful, yeah?” she said. He nodded and kissed her, brushing his tongue against her lips and she tried to hand him his coat, but he shook his head. 

“Not a chance. Stay warm, I’ll be back soon,” he said. She nodded and watched him head toward the main entrance and she bit her lip, returning to the room with the fire carefully. 

She was lost in thought and kept her blocks up, her hand resting on her stomach as she tried to keep warm in his jacket, under a blanket, in front of the fire, and she was startled when she heard the gentle hum of the TARDIS materializing echo through the hall. She ran out of the room and saw he had parked it in the library, and she let out a breath. “Everything go alright?” 

“Yeah,” he said, sniffing. “Half the forest fell over in the storm, though. Things are...it’s weird, Rose.” 

She looked at him, and she saw he was thinking. She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. “Come on. Let’s focus on getting food for everybody first and foremost, yeah? They might need their strength.” 

She almost told him. Almost. It didn't feel like the right time. 

He smiled at her, her compassion always one of his favorite things about her, and they moved to the galley. The TARDIS, brilliant and telepathic, has certain foods she has endless supplies of. Tea, bread, jam, meats, chips (in recent years), and some of their favorite meals always seem to pop up when they need them, and so Rose was not surprised when the ship had all of them waiting for them on the counters. 

“You first,” he said, grabbing a plate of food and handing it to her. He lingered as he looked at her, and she wondered again if he knew. But he broke eye contact after just a moment and grabbed his own plate, and she nibbled on her lip.

“Thank you,” she said, and they both ate fairly quickly. Rose was watching him, trying to figure out to how say it when her Instincts spoke to her, and she sighed. 

She couldn’t say the words yet, it still felt too surreal, and she realized she couldn't tell him today either. Not now, at least. They needed to focus on the problem at hand and she knew the moment she told him he would start to worry and obsess. He’ll be thrilled, and that part she couldn’t wait for, but she knew what this meant to him, and even if he tried his hardest not to be, she knew he would be distracted. And from what they’ve been able to deduce so far, time is running out here. 

They can’t afford distractions. 

She took a deep breath and swallowed her last bite, moving to wash her hands and put her plate in the sink. His eyes followed her, and she kissed the top of his head. 

“Better?” he asked. She nodded. 

“Much,” she said. “I’ll go bring some boxes of all this to the town.” 

“I can help,” he said with a small laugh, and she smiled at him. 

She tried to push it from her own mind as they spent the next few hours caught in grateful hugs and sobs as they delivered food to every doorstep in the town. They took the opportunity when they met the residents to find out more about what has been going on from their perspective, and it sounded quite similar to what they were already told. That a darkness was here. A curse. Time hadn’t moved and yet time was running out. 

The Doctor, much to Rose’s amusement, found all of it incredibly interesting and fascinating and he was rambling to her again on the way back to the castle. She was listening, but she was also feeling a little queasy and she was trying her hardest not to get sick again, and when they slipped back into the castle she walked quickly to the TARDIS, and gave the Doctor a look when she saw Lorelai and Percival staring at it in the entryway. He grinned and greeted them, explaining what it was and why it was there, and she quickly darted to the first ensuite she could find, dimly registering the TARDIS moved it for her, and got sick. 

She leaned back after a minute or two and let out a breath, rubbing her hand on the wall. “Thank you,” she murmured, and she could feel the TARDIS hum in her head. She thought about running and trying to play around with equipment, still a little desperate to know just now pregnant she was, and if the... 

She still couldn’t say the word, and she nibbled on her lip. When she felt another smaller wave of nausea she closed her eyes and hurled again, dry heaving by this point, and she looked down at her stomach and sighed. “You gonna let me solve this mystery or what?” 

She felt her stomach flip over when she realized what she was doing, and suddenly she was crying again. They were happy tears, but she forgot about blocks and the tears flowed out of her, until she tried to reign it all in. “Stop it,” she told herself, splashing water on her face and looking at herself in the mirror. 

They can’t afford distractions. 

She brushed her teeth and stepped out of the ensuite, and he was sitting on the bed. “Hi,” she said. 

“The hum in my head. Quite loud. You alright?” he asked. She nodded. 

“Yeah, I promise,” she said, and he just looked at her. 

“Rose...come on. Who are you talking to?” he whispered. She bit her lip. 

“Did Lorelai and Percival get something to eat?” she asked. He smirked at her. 

“As we speak,” he said. “Gave food to the soldiers and staff as well.” 

“Good,” she said. “I’m fine, Doctor. We should start investigating.” 

“Rose,” he said again, and she sighed. 

Five years, three bonds, and three marriages later. Neither had secrets. But she couldn’t tell him. But he suspected _something_ and she knew that too would cause a distraction. 

She let out a breath as his eyes traced her face and she moved to sit next to him on the bed. “I’m...thinking.” 

“Okay,” he said, looking at her. “About?” 

“Cubs,” she whispered, unable to think of an excuse. She heard him inhale, clearly not expecting her to say that at the moment, and she laid down on their bed. “Just...I dunno. Meeting Isobel’s daughter. She really helped me back then, and it just got me thinking.” 

He watched her and moved to lay down beside her. “You were dizzy. You got sick.” 

“I hadn’t eaten, I told you that,” she assured him, and he tilted his head to look at her. 

“Rose…” he whispered, his hearts beating rapidly against his chest. They simply knew each other too well, and she found it impossible to look him in the eye without crying. 

“I’m thinking about it,” she whispered back. 

“Nothing else?” he asked with a faint smile, and she kissed his shoulder. 

“No,” she said, and he sighed. She closed her eyes. A moment passed. “Just...is there anything I should be prepared for? You know, when it does happen. Alien pregnancy and all…” 

He swallowed, aware of what this conversation actually was, but he was trying not to push her. 

“When it happens, you should have fairly similar symptoms to humans,” he murmured, his eyes starting to water. He cleared his throat. “Might be slightly different. Some might start or end earlier. We’d need to do some tests, of course, since your DNA is one of a kind, but...” 

“Sure,” she said, and she found herself moving to rest her head on his chest. He smiled, and she did too, and she let out a breath. “Nine months?” 

“Probably,” he whispered, unspoken words lingering in the air again. She closed her eyes. “When you start to feel symptoms I have medication I can give you. To help with, well, certain things.” 

“Nausea?” she whispered, and he couldn’t stop the tears now. 

“Yeah,” he said. She knew he knew and she pulled back and looked at him. 

“I think I’d like some of that,” she said. He stared at her, officially no longer breathing as hazel galaxies met chocolate. 

“Yeah?” he said, and he pulled her into a hug. He held her close, and she smiled as he began to kiss her head, then her cheeks, then her lips, slow, soft, and gentle, and she pulled away and wiped his tears. 

“I don’t want this to be a distraction. There’s a very real problem out there, and I just figured it out last night and I knew - ” she said, but he kissed her again, a happy sound escaping his lips and he shifted so he was hovering over her, and he pressed his forehead to hers. 

“Of course,” he said, smiling. 

She stared at him, and she could feel his heartbeat in her ring. She felt some tears fall and slide down the side of her face as she stayed lying down, and he shifted off of her, wanting to say so many things. He didn’t know what to do or where to begin, and he just started to smile. It kept growing wider, and Rose found it impossible not to smile back. 

She surprised herself. 

“Do you… I mean, you maybe wanna have a baby, Doctor?” she whispered, and the word made her feel dizzier than she had before, and he caught her as he pulled her into a hug, kissing her head. He laughed, and she smiled in the hug and he pulled away, looking at her carefully. 

“You’re sure?” he said. She nodded. 

“Scanned myself three times,” she said. “I don’t know how far along or anything, but…” 

“Rose…” he said, smiling so widely it looked like his mouth was about to jump off of his face. She bit her lip and laughed a little and he dropped his gaze to her belly. “May I?” 

“Of course,” she said, finding it adorable that he was asking, and he placed a hand on her belly and suppressed a small sob. She felt her own throat tighten and he looked at her, pulling her into a hug. 

“Are you happy? You wanted to wait -” he began, but she just shook her head, cupping her hand to his cheek. 

“Of course I’m happy,” she whispered. “I just...think I’m a little in shock.” 

He laughed and let out a breath, looking at her with such care and love it made her throat tighten. 

“I love you so much,” he said and she kissed him. 

“I love you,” she said. He stared at her, both wanting to say so much more, but they could still hear Loreali and Percival in the other room and he sighed. 

As per usual, the universe needed saving first. 

“Come on, we’ll get you some medicine,” he said, holding his hand out to her. She smiled. 

He led her to infirmary and rummaged through his cabinets. He was trying to hold it all together, and he started pulling out some liquid from the 40th century that was a miracle cure for morning sickness. He beamed like an idiot as he handed it to her, and she swallowed it in one gulp, letting out a breath. He squeezed her hand, staring at her. 

“Can I run a couple tests?” he asked. She bit her lip. 

“Doctor, they need us,” she said. “I’m fine.” 

He clenched his jaw, and ran his hand over his face. “Just one. I just want to know that everything is as it should be, Rose. Please?” 

She saw it in his face, how much he needed this, and she knew he would worry about her all day if she didn’t let him do this now, so she leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “Thank you,” he said, briefly kissing her. 

His ultrasound technology was different from what she’d seen in all the movies she’d watched or from what she remembered when her mum was pregnant with Tony. There wasn’t any gel, or a strange looking wand. He simply had a small round device he hovered over her skin and attached to a monitor, and he was looking at it nervously as he assessed. She was watching him and the screen carefully, he squeezed her hand. “All good,” he said, dazed, and he looked at her with a wide smile and watery eyes. 

“Yeah?” she asked, and he nodded. 

“Right there,” he murmured, pointing to the monitor. His eyes were stuck to it, and Rose honestly didn’t see anything, even with his advanced sonograms that were much clearer than 21st century machines, but she still felt her heart stop beating and she bit her lip, and he kissed her head. “Rose…” 

They smiled at each other, and for a moment they completely forgot that they had a potential universe shattering problem waiting for them outside the blue doors. He ran his hand along her belly, staring at it in amazement and she brushed her hand into his hair, and they both let out long breaths. He sniffed and looked at her. 

“Prenatal vitamins, those are still needed, so you should start those. I don’t think I have any, but New Earth has the best so we’ll go there next. We’ll need to remove your birth control just to avoid any possible complications. That doesn’t have to happen now, but soon… Oh, I’ll need to stock up on chips, I know the TARDIS has them but I’ll get extra. Knowing you that’s what you’ll wake me up for at 4am...And...I….” he began, and she just laughed as he broke off and just ran his hand through his hair. “Oh!” 

“What?” she said, and he turned back to the screen, typing a bit and deducting. 

“Six and a half weeks,” he murmured. “I can tell you the exact day. Advanced technology.” 

He smiled a little seductively at her and she rolled her eyes, until he looked back at the screen and realized what day their child was conceived, and he looked at her. 

“What?” she asked. 

“The leather jacket,” he whispered. She bit her lip. 

“Really?” she asked, and he just stared at her. He couldn’t speak. His brain shut off entirely and she just sat up and pulled him to her, and he clung to her. She didn’t say anything either, they just held each other, hope radiating through him like a wildfire. 

Whatever is supposed to happen...will. 

They were finishing what they started. 

It was overwhelming to say the least for both of them, and it would be so easy to get lost in thoughts, but he pulled away and let out a breath, clenching his jaw. “We'll talk later.”

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s a good thing, Doctor.” 

“Oh, yes, completely,” he said, smiling at her, and she smiled back. He let out a breath. “If you need anything when we’re out there you just tell me. I don’t care what we’re doing, Rose, you got that? I will -” 

“I love you,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I know.” 

“I love you, too,” he said. They looked at each other, and both started to smile. “Okay. Good. Yeah. Good.” 

“Allons-y,” she said, and she grabbed his hand, leading him to the doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D :D


	4. Timelocked

The nausea medicine was incredible. They were scanning every room carefully two hours later, and she still felt fine. The Doctor had his alien tech scanner out and Rose was checking the walls, and Lorelai and Percival were watching, desperate to be able to help. 

“Nothing here,” Rose said, stepping away from the wall. The Doctor turned his device off and looked at her. 

He smiled like an idiot at her and she played with her hoop earring, looking at Lorelai. He had been in an overly boisterous mood since they left the TARDIS, which she was completely unsurprised about, and she knew neither of their hosts knew how to handle it. 

He may have broken a few things. Complete accident. 

He was obsessing, a little, just as she thought he would and he refused to leave Rose’s side, which meant the investigation was going a little slower than usual. When Percival suggested they split up the Doctor ignored him, and Rose knew not to push.

He was happy. 

They eventually got the entire castle scanned, but nothing out of the ordinary appeared, which told the Doctor whatever was going on was an outside force, not something from inside where they were. He sprinted to the TARDIS, and Rose left the doors open, and gestured for Lorelai and Percival to follow her. 

“It’s bigger on the inside,” Rose said habitually as they stepped aboard, and she moved to the console, where the Doctor was running a scan on the entire region within 50 miles. They were, as expected, gaping and staring at the room mesmerized, but Rose and the Doctor were working, watching the screen and deducting alongside one another. 

Her breath was hitting his neck and he stopped, looking at her, their minds already open. 

_You’re distracting me._

_And?_

He smirked at her, and muttered ‘voracious’ under his breath which made her bite her lip, and she pressed her lips to his ear. 

“Speaking of that...Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean we stop all that lovely dancing we do, does it?” she whispered so only he could hear. 

Her voice was like velvet and he almost broke the knob he was twisting and looked at her, awestruck when he heard the word ‘pregnant.’ 

She was _pregnant._ With his child. 

“That’s the first question you think to ask?” he asked, and her tongue found the corner of her mouth. He just smiled at her. “No. Definitely not.”

“Good,” she murmured, and he felt her touch his arm. He let out a breath and smiled at her, but she was staring at the screen, and he realized she was no longer flirting with him. He turned his attention back to see what she was looking at. 

“What?!” he whispered, zooming in and trying to understand what was happening. She could feel him thinking and she waited for him to explain, and she watched his brow furrow. “That...that shouldn't be possible.” 

Lorelai and Percival stepped forward now, and the Doctor clenched his jaw. “You’re timelocked.” He looked at them, and they stared at him with a blank expression. “Who’d want to timelock _you?_ ”

“Doctor, rude,” Rose whispered, and he sighed. 

“We’re trapped, Rose,” he whispered. “The Vortex is closed off.” 

“What do you mean? You moved the TARDIS here,” she said. He shook his head. 

“Look,” he said, pointing at the screen. “I can see it but when I try to punch in the coordinates nothing happens. And for some reason along this perimeter here, there is a high level of...time. That’s all I can really describe it as. It’s a wall.” He clenched his jaw. “Think with me?” 

She looked at the screen with him, and she shook her head. “Blocked off from the universe…But if it’s a wall you can’t cross, how’d we even get in?” 

“I don’t know,” the Doctor said. “We shouldn’t have been able to. Everywhere else is fine. It’s just this section of the planet, only this section, that’s closed to the Vortex. Invisible. People walking by it on the street won’t know it exists. I was only able to move the TARDIS because it was within the perimeter.” 

“We can just undo it, yeah? Somehow? Break the lock and things will go back to normal and we can leave?” she asked. He clenched his jaw, looking at the data and ran his hand over his face. 

“I don’t know,” he said. He was growing anxious, but not yet panicking. They were clever. “Very few people can perform successful timelocks, Rose. It’s Time Lord technology.” 

“Who says this one is successful?” she murmured, her Instincts waking up, which had been a little distracted since the night before. She ran her hand through his hair, trying to soothe him. She could sense he was getting a little upset, and he leaned into her touch. “Look around us, Doctor. It’s...crumbling. And we got in. It’s fragile.”

He kissed her as he stood up, pieces falling together. She was right, and the anxiety was dissipating, which meant he was starting to ramble and she just watched. 

“Time goes on around them, but stays still here, but the buildings are falling apart. People are dying, the forest..Of course! Timelocks don’t work like that, usually. It’s a freeze. Whatever is locked is...preserved. Untouched. But you’re all living a life, day after day,” the Doctor said, looking up at Percival and Lorelai. “You can’t leave and you don’t age, like a timelock, but everything is still changing. It’s...rubbish.” 

“It’s like a time...drain,” Rose added, and the Doctor stared at her. 

“It’s exactly like that,” he said, grinning. He let out a noise and jumped up, spinning her in a circle. “HA! You’re brilliant. I love you, Rose Tyler and you’re brilliant!” He put her down and kissed her again as he ran his hand through his hair, and she realized he was still quite boisterous today. 

Hard not to be. 

“Something is pulling time out of the Kingdom until it withers away entirely,” he whispered, and she chewed on her lip. 

“A curse,” Rose repeated, looking at Percival who felt a chill go down his spine. “That’s what you called it. After Queen Victoria died.” 

The Doctor looked at her, about to continue deducting when Rose’s stomach rumbled. He smiled. 

“Time for a break,” he said, hopping up. Percival just groaned. 

“Our Kingdom is dying! We don’t have time for breaks!” he snapped. The Doctor just looked at him, a look that told him it wasn’t up for discussion, and Rose bit her lip when Percival just collapsed on the ramp. 

“Wait outside,” the Doctor said, and Rose nudged him. He gave her a look and bit his cheek. “Please.” 

She smiled at them as he grabbed her hand and they walked to the galley where the TARDIS still had some food on the counters, and he handed her a plate. It was all...rather healthy, and she sighed. 

“I want a milkshake,” she said, and he smirked. 

“Will you eat that first?” he asked, and she made a face at him. He made one back, and they both smiled. He sat across from her and grabbed her hand and they both, for a second, let themselves feel it. Tears welled in their eyes before they pushed them down and she focused on her food, and he focused on all the information they had gathered in the last few hours. 

“Something is wiping this Kingdom from existence,” he said. “I only know of this place from stories, Rose. A myth.” 

“The timelock caused that, yeah?” Rose asked, swallowing her bite. He nodded. 

“Had to. Timelocks are tricky. A full, properly executed one can erase entire civilizations from history, make it so they never existed. If you lock the part of the timestream from before they were created, then, well...they never get created,” he said. 

“Can they cause paradoxes?” Rose asked. He nodded. 

“Bad ones can, yeah…” he murmured. She was chewing slowly and he was deducting with her, their faces hard and calculated. “They’re not always so catastrophic. Some are simpler, but they all do the same thing. They shift history on the outside. Whoever is stuck in the lock knows the truth, but those around it only know the version of history that gets created. A fabrication. There is a reason we banned them on Gallifrey. They’re dangerous,” he said. She finished her plate and he got up and was still thinking. “Flavor?” 

“Mmm….vanilla,” she said, and he was scooping ice cream as they thought, and she couldn’t help but smile. This was their life now. 

He blended it all together with some milk and handed it to her, and she giggled a little as she took a sip, which made him shake his head and kiss her hand. “It started after Queen Victoria died.” 

“She wasn’t vengeful,” Rose said, slurping her milkshake loudly. He laughed. “She was not amused, especially with you, but she wasn’t vengeful.” 

“You’re impossible,” he said with a smile, and she winked at him. “I don’t think she meant to cause it, but she triggered this somehow...” 

Rose took another sip and handed the glass to the Doctor. “Want some?” 

“No, all yours,” he said with a smile, and she narrowed her eyes playfully. 

“It’s really good,” she sang, and he rolled his eyes and took a sip. 

“You’re not going to make me try your weird cravings, are you? Peanut butter on spaghetti or -” he began, and she gagged. “Sorry.” 

He watched her reign it in and just laugh, and he got up and moved to her, placing a hand on her stomach. She smiled, and leaned against him, and they allowed themselves one more second to just…

He felt himself growing emotional and he pulled away and kissed her head. “Come on.” 

They held hands and walked out of the TARDIS, but stopped in the doorway. Percival and Lorelai were both slumped over the couch with gags in their mouths, unconscious, and the Doctor ran to them, scanning. 

“They’re alive,” he said. Rose looked around, and she moved to the bookshelf, quickly running her hand over the shelves. 

“The journal is gone,” she said. “The one with Isobel’s notes.” 

He glanced up, removing the gags and throwing them on the ground. Rose moved to look at the sides of the TARDIS, wondering how they didn’t hear any of this, and she saw someone had tried to break the lock. “My Instincts should have known this was happening…” 

“We’re a little distracted today, Rose,” he said softly, and she felt tears brim and she suddenly felt angry. 

“That’s why I didn’t want to say anything yet. We’re distracted and now -” she started to shout, and he just moved to her and wrapped her in a hug. “Doctor, stop.” 

He pulled away with a sigh, and tried not to smile. “Hormones, love. We’re okay, that’s all this is.” 

“Are you pregnant?” she snapped, and he smiled then. 

“No,” he said. “But I share three bonds with you, Rose Tyler.” 

He meant it lovingly. He was so bloody thrilled and he was trying to help, but she just glared at him and his smile fell. “Don’t patronize me, yeah? Not in the mood.” 

“I don’t mean to,” he said, his brow creasing. She just wiped her eyes and looked back at the TARDIS. “Rose -” 

“I just...I knew that we would miss things if we both knew,” she said. “Instincts. I should have listened. I knew it. Stupid.” 

He looked at her, trying not to feel hurt, but he just clenched his jaw and sniffed, moving to the other side of the TARDIS to make sure there wasn’t any damage. He knew there wasn’t, he would have felt it, and he closed his eyes when Rose sniffled. He stayed quiet, not wanting to make it worse. 

She was trying to stop, and the Doctor walked back into the TARDIS. She felt new tears boil over, suddenly worried she made him angry, her emotions so jumbled she couldn’t really feel his, but he walked out a minute later with a bowl of chips, and handed it to her. She let out a sob. 

“Really?” she said, and he kissed her head, smiling inwardly as she began to eat and he turned to Lorelai and Pervical and scanned them again. 

Lorelai stirred and he watched her carefully. She coughed a little, covering her mouth with her hand, and he helped her sit up. Percival stirred a moment after, and Rose found herself able to control her tears when she saw them look at each other, and she handed them the rest of her chips. 

“They’ll make you feel better, promise,” she said. 

“What happened?” Percival asked, and the Doctor took a deep breath. 

“We’re hoping you could tell us that,” he said. 

Rose looked at him and ran her hand along his back. 

_I’m sorry._

_Don’t be._

They shared a glance that almost led to a kiss, but Lorelai kept speaking. 

“I can’t remember anything…” she said. “We walked out of that box of yours and sat on the sofa, and then I woke up.” 

The Doctor sniffed and scanned the entire room. He was picking up on something, and Rose watched him. “Lock all the doors and windows. We’ll go out there.” 

“You don’t know what you’re looking for,” Percival said, and the Doctor just gave him a look, still irritated from earlier. 

“Who’s more likely to figure it out? Me or you?” he asked, and Rose rolled her eyes. 

“Alright, listen, both of you. We’re running out of time. Literally, so just stay inside,” she said, standing. “Somebody wanted the journal, so we’re looking for that. We find that we may find out what else is going on.” 

The Doctor held his hand out and slipped through the hall with Rose back toward the throne room, as Loreali and Percival locked themselves inside. The Doctor was following his impulses when Rose suddenly stopped and pulled him to her, catching him in a passionate kiss. His arms slid around her waist and she made a small sound, before she pulled back and locked eyes with him. 

“I’m glad we both know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.” 

“Rose,” he said with a smile. “I know. I’m rather glad, myself.” 

She just smiled at him and he hugged her, unspoken words floating above them that they didn’t try to unpack. He squeezed her just a little before they each took a breath, and he grabbed her hand. “Instincts?” 

“This way,” she said, and they walked out of the front door, down the steps, and into the town. 

The ground was forming a sinkhole.


	5. Require the Moon

The Doctor pulled Rose back as people were scrambling and screaming, and they started to run. The sinkhole was where the mud had been that they trekked through, and the Doctor realized he was right. Something was draining time from the region, and eventually when it ran out, the entire Kingdom would implode on itself. 

Erased from existence. 

His mind immediately thought of Rose and their child, and he felt a wave of focus he’d never quite felt before. He sprinted around the perimeter of the town and waited for just a moment, and Rose’s own mind was thinking quickly next to him. 

“Why’s it starting there?” she asked. He looked at her, knowing exactly what she meant as people were still screaming and running around them, and he kissed her. 

“Stay here,” he said. She opened her mouth to argue and he just pleaded with his eyes. She flashed him his favorite smile. 

“I’m pregnant, not made of glass, Doctor,” she said, and he groaned as she raced to the sinkhole with her sonic screwdriver in front of her, scanning everything. 

“Just be careful!” he shouted, and a hoard of people split them up for a moment. He peered over the tops of their heads to see Rose looking down into the sinkhole, and she ran back as it started to widen. “ROSE!” 

_I’m fine._

Her eyes locked with his and he pushed through the crowd to reach her. They held hands, and Rose looked over to see a cloaked figure watching the chaos, and she ran. 

The Doctor ran after her. 

“STOP!” Rose shouted, but suddenly the storm clouds started to darken, and they heard another clap of thunder like the night before. Rose saw the figure run around the crowd and jump down into the sinkhole, and she started to follow when the Doctor grabbed her arm. 

“No,” he said. She just stared at him. 

“Trust me,” she said, and he clenched his jaw. “Doctor, we can fight about this all out later if you want to but we don’t have time. Instincts are telling me to go so just let me go.” 

His breathing was shallow and he swallowed, before he slipped his hand into hers and let her lead him toward the sinkhole. She could see the figure at the bottom and he started to climb down first. “I’ll catch you.” 

“Okay,” she said. He slid and climbed and ultimately jumped down to the bottom and looked back up. 

“I’ve got you!” he shouted, and Rose began to climb down as well. “Rose just jump!” 

She rolled her eyes, knowing this wasn’t going to go well, and when she was about half way she let go and fell against the Doctor, who groaned as his back hit the ground. 

“You gonna let me do this my way now?” she asked with a smile, and he just gave her a look, brushing off his suit and pulling her into a kiss. 

“Fine,” he said, and they both stood up. They weren’t too far down into the layers of the Earth he realized, the core was still thousands of kilometers below their feet. They were just underground, the way a gem mine might be, and he held her hand as they inched forward, trying to find where the hooded figure had gone. 

He quickly realized a gem mine is exactly where they were. 

“Diamonds,” Rose whispered, and she felt her stomach flip over. 

They heard a wolf howl, and Rose stopped. 

“Brilliant,” he said. 

“It’s a den,” she whispered. He shared a glance with her and engaged his respiratory bypass. She stopped moving and bit her lip, looking around. “They can probably smell us.” 

He heard the wolves howl again and saw a flash of light pierce the tunnel they were in. He frowned. “Time.” 

Another flash. 

And another. 

He held her hand, half expecting a projection to appear, but the wolves just howled and Rose’s tongue was tracing her lip. “They’re playing with it. Come on.” 

He followed her, both of their sonics still ready to go as they reached the center of the sinkhole. Five hooded figures sat around an orifice that was dug into the dirt, and the Doctor realized the light was coming from it. 

“Welcome, sister,” one of the hooded figures said. Rose stiffened. 

“Who are you?” she asked. The Doctor stayed back, not wanting to anger the pack, and Rose moved forward carefully.

“Inquisitive,” one hissed. One stood and moved to Rose quickly, and the Doctor stiffened. “You brought a treat.” 

“The Doctor,” he said from the shadows. “What is all this?” 

“From the book,” another figure said, and Rose’s eyes darted to it, seeing Isobel’s notebook at its side, her face staring back at her. “You are a wolf, too.” 

“Sort of,” she said. “You still haven’t told me who you are.” 

“We are secrets,” a third figure said, and Rose felt herself get irritated. 

“Yeah, well secrets don’t make friends. What is this?” she asked. The figures all turned and looked at her, and she noticed their eyes were black. 

She swallowed. 

“Sit with us, sister,” the first figure said, and Rose moved and sat between the figures. 

The Doctor watched carefully, and one of the figures touched the light. Her skin became supple and firm, and her eyes were a warm chocolate. Rose’s brow furrowed, and she watched as each figure touched the light, sending a flash down the hall like they had seen, and each one looked human again. 

She glanced down at the light and saw thousands of diamonds under their fingertips. The Doctor looked up, and saw thousands more all around their heads and he sighed. 

“A curse... It’s the Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform. You’re trying to undo your bites,” he said, shaking his head. “Something is in these diamonds. If you harness the energy and drink all the time that lives in this region, you think you can try to become human again.” 

Rose felt sorrow for all of them as they smiled and howled, their hands still touching the stones. They were half-breeds, perhaps, if this was their goal. She knew those who were bit directly would die and embrace the wolf within. 

She’d seen it. 

She needed to get them to talk, so she howled too, and they stopped and stared. 

The Doctor felt a shiver run down his spine. 

_Your cubs will howl, too. You need to be prepared._

His entire body was tense as Rose stopped howling and stared at the figures, who once again looked sickly with dark eyes. “It doesn’t work that way,” Rose said. The wolves all stared at her. “Once you turn, you just...are. I’m sorry. You’re killing the entire Kingdom.” 

“We need Time,” one of the figures said. Rose looked at her. 

“How’d you get here?” she asked. 

“We were cared for,” another figure said. “The Defender of the Faith, she believed in us.” 

“Queen Victoria, right,” the Doctor hummed, taking a deep breath. His eyebrow was raised as he moved to sit by Rose, and he wrapped his arm around her waist protectively, still feeling a little uneasy. “Did she keep you here?” 

“Yes,” a figure said. “We were always loved here.” 

“So when she died…I’m sorry, I know that must be sad to think about,” Rose began, and the Doctor looked at her, reminded that she tends to save lost souls. 

He was also reminded that Bad Wolf leads with love. 

He sighed and squeezed her, and she continued. “No one came looking for you?” he asked. 

“We are secrets,” the figure said. Rose bit her lip. 

“You couldn’t have made that timelock from down here,” she said. “Who did?” 

“The Darkness,” a figure said. Rose furrowed her brow, and the Doctor sniffed. 

“What’d they look like?” he asked. 

“The Darkness takes what the Light can’t have” the figure said. The Doctor clenched his jaw. 

“Have you ever seen them? The Darkness?” he repeated, and they all started to howl. 

He looked at Rose, who stood up and scanned the diamonds in the walls. He got up and scanned too, tucking one into his pocket, but the howling was growing louder, and Rose snapped. 

“STOP IT,” she shouted, and all the wolves looked at her. The Doctor spun around too, and she moved to them, kneeling in front of all five hoods and staring at them carefully. “Listen to me. You have to stop. What you’re doing, somehow it's draining all the time from this world. This Kingdom is crumbling up above us. People are dying. Isobel’s daughter, you know her, right?” 

“The book,” a figure said, and Rose nodded. 

“Right,” she said. “She’s up there. She was a friend of your Queen. Yeah? You have to stop. I’m sorry, I wish there was something we could do but there isn’t.” 

“But you are a wolf. You are human,” one of the figures said. "We stole the book. We know. You are our salvation." Rose just sighed. 

“We’re not the same kind of wolf. I burn like the sun, and all you require is the moon,” she whispered. The Doctor stared at her, and Rose felt tears fall from her eyes. “I’m begging you to stop. Please.” 

“Rose,” the Doctor said, and she turned to him. He gave her a sad look, and she knew exactly what they had to do. 

“We can’t change you, but if you want…” Rose whispered. “If you don’t want to suffer any longer we can help.” 

“Time will heal us,” one of the figures said. Rose bit her lip. 

She stood and the Doctor held her hand as they watched the figures touch the diamonds in the dirt again, and another flash of light pierced the hall. 

_The diamonds are somehow triggering the timelock. I have no idea how, but I just scanned to make sure._

_So we have to destroy them?_

_Yes._

Rose closed her eyes, and he gripped her hand as she shot out a beam of light at the dirt, knocking all of the figures back. They stood back up and snarled, realizing Rose was not a friend, and she fired three more beams, to the left, to the right, and above their heads, and the diamonds all shattered around them. 

They all howled in pain, and he pulled her with him as they ran back toward the entrance. She destroyed all the diamonds they passed, a solid beam of energy running alongside them, and the figures were at their tails, howling and snarling. They were still half human in form, and Rose began to climb with the Doctor following after her, kicking at the figures as they tried to escape the sinkhole as well. 

It was beginning to close up, the fabric of time around the Kingdom healing now that the timelock was breaking down, and Rose reached the top of the hole and rolled out, reaching in and grabbing the Doctor, pulling him behind her. 

Just as the sinkhole was about to close for good, she let out one final blast of light, knocking all the wolves back and shattering the remaining diamonds, and the ground sealed shut. The rainclouds vanished almost instantly, and they watched as the trees that had fallen on the ground stood back up and began to blossom, as if time was unwinding and bringing life back with it. 

The curse was broken. 

The people still looked rather thin, but there was a bit more color in their cheeks as they began to emerge around them, watching in shock. The Doctor hugged Rose, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They both looked up to see the castle restoring as time stitched itself back together, and he let out a breath. 

“Come on,” he said, and they moved up the stairs to the throne room, and were welcomed by warmth. She smiled at him, and Lorelai and Percival came running out, completely at a loss for words. 

“Oh, my God!” Lorelai shouted, and she caught Rose in a hug, who just laughed and hugged her back. Percival hugged her too, and then the Doctor, who had let his irritation go and clapped him on the shoulder. “Are you both alright?”

“Oh, yeah,” Rose assured her. “Day in the Life. We couldn’t save your mum’s notebook, I’m sorry.” 

“Oh, Rose,” she said. “She was right. You were the only ones who could stop it. You saved the Kingdom.” 

“What was it?” Percival asked. The Doctor sniffed. 

“Not sure exactly. But it’s gone now,” he said, not feeling like explaining it all at the moment. “I just want to make sure the timelock is broken completely.” 

Lorelai and Percival stared at each other, and the Doctor sniffed as he opened the TARDIS and moved to the controls, scanning. He smiled when he realized it all worked and he and Rose could go back to the stars at any moment, and she kissed his head as she looked on as well. 

“You are all set,” the Doctor said, placing his legs up by the controls. “Timelock is gone. Curse is gone. Should be...well…” 

“Thank you,” Percival said. “I mean that.” 

“Quite,” the Doctor said, nodding. Rose felt the TARDIS hum in her head, and she smiled. 

_Well done, Old Girl._

She rubbed the coral a little and looked over at Lorelai and Percival. “You two take care.” 

“Are you leaving?” Lorelai asked, and Rose just smiled. 

“I found out I’m pregnant today. I have a doctor’s appointment to make,” she said with a smile. Lorelai stared at her, completely stunned, and she hugged her again. 

Percival just nodded and stepped off the ship, and Lorelai smiled. “I hope you’ll come back.” 

“Yeah,” Rose said, and she waved at both of them as the doors closed. 

The Doctor looked at her and she let out a breath, and he kissed her hand as he pressed the coordinates for the Vortex, and pulled the lever. “Oh, that felt good to do.” 

“Yeah,” she said, smiling. 

She realized he had been a little worried they would be trapped there. His face was brighter now, and neither said anything for a moment. He looked at her, his eyes tracing her cheeks, then her chin, then her forehead. He took in her eyelashes, her hair, her nose and her lips, and he stood up slowly and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her tenderly. She smiled and kissed him back, their tongues meeting and brushing softly, and he pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” she said. 

He wasn’t sure where to begin, and they were both feeling a lot of things. The prophecy from the Oracle was ringing in his mind, giving him a strange mix of hope and anxiety, as was the ominous note about ‘The Darkness’, but he watched Rose place a hand on her belly and he felt it all go away. Today was a happy day, and nothing mattered more than what was standing before him. He pulled her to him in a long hug, their heartbeats reverberating in their rings. 

He was a little speechless, and so unbelievably happy, and he just found himself grinning and staring at her all night as they changed into lounge clothes. He sang again as he made some more food for both of them, determined to make sure Rose gets all the nutrients she needs, and he had to grip the dresser after dinner as she took another shower, realization hitting him a little bit that this was actually happening. He closed his eyes and saw the sonogram, and he fluttered his lips and cleared his throat, desperately trying to not cry. 

He loved her so much it took his breath away. 

She wanted to watch a movie, and they ended the day in the media room with a slapstick comedy film in the background that the both, inevitably, pretended to watch. 

Unspoken words lingered in the air, and it made them both dizzy. 

He was running his fingers down her arm, savoring the moment, and she was resting against his shoulder. “Do we keep traveling?” 

“I think so,” he said, looking down at her. “Unless you don’t want to.” 

“Of course I want to,” she murmured. “I just know you got worried today, and that’s only going to get worse.” 

She was teasing him and she poked his ribs, and he just smiled at her, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I worry no matter what. I trust you. Just...we should be careful. Please?”

“We can try, the universe may have other ideas,” she joked, and he nodded. 

“Yeah, but...we have to finish what we started, right?” he asked, and she smiled. The surge of hope that pulsed through him left him awestruck, and she felt it too. She muted the film and pulled away to look at him, resting her arm on the back of the couch to play with his hair. 

“No matter what happens, we do it together,” she said softly. He smiled a little at her and laced their fingers together. 

“Always,” he said, and she yawned. “You wanna sleep?” 

“I think so,” she said. “That okay? I know we have a lot to talk about.” 

“We have time,” he said with a loving smile. “Come on.” 

He led her to the bedroom and crawled next to her, wrapping his arms around her and letting one of his hands rest on her abdomen. She bit her lip when she noticed, and he kissed her hair. “Is that alright?” 

“You can touch my stomach whenever you want, Doctor. That’s your baby, too,” she said. His breath hitched, and all that emotion he had tried to suppress all day came bubbling up, and he kissed her head, lingering longer than normal as silent tears of joy fell onto his pillow. He was a sap, wrapped her her finger, and he didn't care. She made him believe in impossible things, and this felt like a truly impossible thing... 

He wiped them away, and she turned in his embrace to look at him. “I think I’m in shock, too,” he admitted, and she laughed, snuggling up closer to him. 

She was asleep within minutes, and he could tell it was going to be a rather deep sleep. Her mouth was open and she was snoring, and he chuckled as he looked at her for a moment, his mind flashing forward to what the rest of their lives would hold. He tried to stay in the here and now, and resisted the urge to search timelines...and he smiled so hard as he drifted off his cheeks hurt. 

Forever just got an entirely new meaning.


End file.
